It took considerably less amount of time to get to No. 12 than it has in the past, and it certainly didn’t take a lot of time for the Broncos to make that selection.

“He wrote it down right away,” Executive Vice President of Football Operations and Head Coach Mike Shanahan said.

The name on that 4-by-6 index card handed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was Ryan Clady, left tackle from Boise State University.

“I knew the Broncos were really interested in me,” Clady said. “I thought it was a good fit. I knew they were really interested in me and I knew they really wanted to get me. I wasn’t surprised when they called.”

Nothing is ever sure in the NFL Draft, but the Broncos knew they needed an impact player at No. 12, and Shanahan felt that that player was Clady.

“We had Ryan Clady in here for a couple days,” he said. “I’m really impressed with him as a person. Obviously a left tackle that we think is an excellent athlete that will fit into our scheme extremely well.”

Boise State’s zone blocking system is similar to the Broncos, and should help Clady along early.

“I think it will help me a lot, because it’s the same type of system,” Clady said. “I’ve been in it for four years, and I’ve gotten to know it well. It will definitely help me a lot. It’s just a fast track for learning and just getting on the field faster than in any other system.”

Not only will Clady fit into the scheme, he’s expected to start. With the retirement of Matt Lepsis during the offseason, the Broncos were in need of a left tackle, and some competition along the offensive line.

Clady creates that competition, as Shanahan immediately tagged him as the starter, though he did say that Ryan Harris and Chris Kuper would also be in the mix.

“There will be some competition, obviously,” Shanahan said. “We have Ryan Harris that can play both sides. We have (Chris) Kuper that can play inside and outside. So we have a little bit more depth at the offensive line position. But we really felt going into this draft, we needed to take a look at our tackle position.”

Clady had been tagged as high as No. 5 with the Kansas City Chiefs, and that left the Broncos uncertain as to whether one of their top targets would reach them at No. 12. things got a little dicey at No. 7 with New England trading picks with New Orleans at No. 10, and Jacksonville moving all the way from No. 26 to No. 8.

“Just going in today, with certain things that occurred, just talking to people this morning, I had a gut that a few guys might be there,” Shanahan said. “I wasn’t sure that it was going to happen, because you have to keep your fingers crossed, but fortunately, he was there.”

Clady started at left tackle for the Boise State team that upset Oklahoma in January of 2007 in the Fiesta Bowl.